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How to build developer community?

What doesn't work?

  • Throwing money at the problem
    • Sponsor a hackathon without proper docs that help devs to get started.
    • Not seeding your community with ideas & examples
  • Build excellent tools but tells no one about them and how to use them.
    • Assuming you have provided ==enough context== in your contents
  • Spend too much time on low-leverage work like answering questions

What works?

  • Set clear goals: foster apps, integrations, mutual help, and word-of-mouth built with your tech.
    • a system of new useful apps built on top of your tech
    • integrations between your tech and existing products
    • helping other devs in your community
    • telling their friends about your tech
  • Provide useful content: Libraries, APIs, docs, tools, smart contracts, education, etc.
  • Establish long-term relationships: tutorials, videos, podcasts, workshops, meetups.
  • Ride the hype: explain how your tech works with the popular tech and dev tools.
  • Create superstars in your community.

How to improve docs?

  • Improving docs is high-leverage work.

    • ==Every minute spent making your docs better is worth an hour of answering individual questions - stack overflow.==
  • Understand your developer personas.

    • Listen to your customers every day.
    • Categorize your customers.
  • Developer's questions are useful clues to improve your doc.

How to categorize your developers?

Segment by skill level - seeing the table of skill levels to what they need:

skill levelsDocsToolingTutorials / Examples
BeginnerQuickstartsSDK, simple libsFrontend code, zero-to-hero video series
IntermediateReference Docs, topic-sorted guidestype annotations, dev console/studioFull-fledged example apps
AdvancedA library of ideas we’d like to see builtmini accelerator / grantsPrimitives as building blocks for larger apps

Segment by role / intent

RoleValue
hackathon / indie devmediate
dev from an integration partnermediate
future founderhigh

How to support superstars in your community?

  • Make them feel special and highlighted
  • Promote what they are doing
  • Create sharing opportunities for them to reach border community

How to run a better hackathon?

  • Know your customer - are they willing to build on your tech?
  • Know your co-sponsor - are they as high quality as you?
  • Know how to get started - people are unprepared, having limited time, and over-whelmed by your and others' techs

How to run a better bounty?

  • It doesn't work to Incentivise people to do simple and stupid tasks.
  • What works is to make productive and derivative improvements.
    • Get smart devs to develop something new
    • Crowdsource tutorials and educational content

What do you mean by useful content?

  • periordical sharing
    • web3 research
    • tech deep dive
  • official websites/doc/demo
  • articles to various channels